Murders, They Write

By Hemlata Vasavada

September 2017

Do you like curling up with a good mystery novel?
Here are snapshots of four women authors of Indian
origin who have stormed the bastion of whodunits—and a brief glimpse of a few Indian men who have
made a splash in this genre.

They “can be as
devious in plotting a
mystery and as brutal in
describing bloody murders
as men,” say some writers. Whom are they talking
about? Women writers, of course, and specifically,
in this case, women writers of Indian origin in the
crime fiction genre. In recent times, India has seen
the rise of a number of mystery writers, including
Madhumita Bhattacharya, Madhulika Liddle, Manjiri
Prabhu, and Kalpana Swaminathan. Many first- and
second-generation Indian-American women—such
as Swati Kaushal, Bharti Kirchner, Sujata Massey, Gigi
Pandian, and Radha Vatsal—have also carved out
their criminal worlds. Interestingly, several of these
mystery writers have also authored books in other
genres and covered a variety of topics for their shorter
fiction and nonfiction. Many have a background in
nonwriting-related fields.

I had the opportunity to speak with Bharti Kirchner,
Madhulika Liddle, Sujata Massey, and Gigi Pandian
about their backgrounds, novels, and how they got
involved with mystery writing.

Before becoming a full-time writer, Seattle-based
Bharti Kirchner worked as a systems engineer in the
United States, Europe, and elsewhere. After quitting
her job and settling with her husband in Seattle, she
enrolled in a writing program at the University of
Washington. She is the author of seven novels, four
cookbooks, and numerous articles and essays for
magazines and newspapers. She is well known in literary
circles, and has judged in contests and conducted
workshops for writers. One of her short stories in Seattle
Noir was well-received and led to her fifth novel
and first mystery, Tulip Season: A Mitra Basu Mystery. Her
new novel, Season of Sacrifice: A Maya Mallick Mystery, is
out this month.

Madhulika Liddle graduated from Institute of
Hotel Management, Catering, and Nutrition in Delhi,
married a fellow student, and worked in her field for
twelve years. She resigned in 2008 to write full time.
She says she is “first and foremost, a writer of the short
story,” and her writing has been “endured cheerfully”
by her parents and sister since her childhood.

Her first
publishing success came with “Silent Fear,” a short
story set in an office during dark nonworking hours. In
June 2001, it won Femina magazine’s Thriller Contest.
She won the Overall Prize in
the Commonwealth Broadcasting
Association’s
Short Story Competition
for “A Morning
Swim,” which describes
an eightyear-
old boy
diving into the Yamuna
River to collect
coins. Liddle
writes travel articles
for magazines, humor
for broadcast
on All India Radio,
and maintains a blog
on classical cinema. She
started researching and writing
the first of her Muzaffar Jang mysteries
in 2001. The novel, set in 17th century
Delhi during the reign of Mughal
Emperor Shahjahan, was published in
2008. Three more books in the series
followed. The latest in the series, The
Crimson City, was published in 2015.

A daughter of German and Indian parents, Sujata
Massey was born in England and has lived in
fourteen countries. After graduating with a Bachelor’s
degree in “The Writing Seminars” at Johns
Hopkins University, she worked for five years as a
features reporter for The Baltimore Evening Sun. She
moved to Japan with her husband, a medical officer
with the U.S. Navy, where she taught English and immersed
herself in the culture. While there, she was
inspired to write a mystery featuring Rei Shimura,
a young Japanese-American woman. She wrote ten
more Rei Shimura mysteries. Massey then changed her
setting to India, a country she
had visited as a child and from
where she adopted her two children.
Landmarks and buildings
of the colonial period piqued her
interest in Indians and Europeans
from the previous century.
The Sleeping Dictionary describes
the struggles of an Indian woman
in Calcutta during World War II. Two more books
followed. Her latest, The Widows of Malabar Hill, will be
out in January 2018.

San Francisco-based Gigi Pandian’s cultural anthropologist
parents (from New Mexico and southern
India) “dragged” her around the world on their research
trips, providing her ample experiences for great fiction.
While studying for her Ph.D. she decided to leave
academics to concentrate on her writing. Her writing
endeavors accelerated when, at the age of 36, she was
diagnosed with cancer. She wrote mysteries while going
through her treatment. She is doing well and takes
her camera and notebook with her as she travels with
her husband whenever possible. She writes Jaya Jones
Treasure Hunt Mysteries and Accidental Alchemist Mysteries,
paranormal mysteries with fantasy elements. Both
series, she says, are considered traditional mysteries
because they involve puzzle plots and don’t contain
graphic violence. In addition, she writes “locked room
mystery short stories,” which she describes as cozy
mysteries. Pandian is on the board of Sisters in Crime
and is a member of Mystery Writers of America.

Bharti Kirchner’s latest novel, Season of Sacrifice:
A Maya Mallick Mystery, has been released in hardcover
by Severn House. This first installment in the
series describes how Maya Mallick, an Indian-American
private detective, solves the death of a brilliant
scientist researching a malaria vaccine. Her death appears
to be a protest suicide against a visiting Chinese
dignitary. When
a second such
death happens,
Maya realizes that
the victims were
driven to such violent
deaths. After
several misleading
clues, even an attack on
Maya and her mother, the
detective finds the criminals
and their motives for driving these
young women to “sacrificial suicides.” With great
difficulty she gets the evidence needed to catch
the criminals. While Kirchner’s last novel was historical
fiction set in India, this one is set in present-day
Seattle. She says all she had to do was step out
of the house to see, hear, smell, and write about
Seattle—its streets, houses, people, Indian shops,
and restaurants.

Kirchner’s first cookbook was named by Food Art
Magazine as one of the best cookbooks in 1992. The
second was named among the top ten cookbooks of
1993 by USA Today, and one of the best cookbooks by
Chicago Tribune.

She has won two “4-Culture Literature Awards,”
several literature grants, and has been honored as
a “Living Pioneer Asian American Author.” Her first
novel was chosen by Seattle Weekly as one of the top
18 books in the last 25 years. Her fourth was selected
for the “Summer Washington Reads Program.” Her
novels have been praised by Publisher’s Weekly and
Booklist for “painting vivid pictures of modern India
and of immigrant life.”

In contrast, Madhulika Liddle chose to set the
Muzaffar Jang series in seventeenth century Dilli
(now Delhi). Her recent Crimson City, published by
Hachette, India, is set in 1657. Newly married Muzaffar
Jang wants to keep his beloved wife Shireen
safe and happy during political unrest in Emperor
Shahjahan’s rule. While he tries to solve the murder
of a merchant in his neighborhood, a moneylender
asks him to find his kidnapped son. Soon after, there
are two more murders. Muzaffar Jang wants to find
the serial killer, but his brother-in-law, Khan Sahib,
the Kotwal—head lawman—who has practically raised
him, warns him not to interfere with the law. Muzaffar
Jang wants to investigate the murder but feels
obligated to obey his brother-in-law. Shireen helps
him make up his mind to continue the search and
assists him in the investigation. Although the protagonist
is male, his wife’s encouragement, reasoning,
and keen observation help him solve the crime.
Describing the details of 17th century Dilli—the dust,
horses, mahalsara (where he lives), streets, shops, garments
of men and women, and methods of solving
crimes without modern tools—required extensive
research. Liddle says she started researching and
writing the series in 2001, and the first book was
published seven years later—yet she still continues
to research. Her next book, Blue Beads (tentative title),
is not a mystery but a collection of women-centric
short stories in various genres.

Sujata Massey’s forthcoming novel, The Widows of
Malabar Hill, published by Soho Crime, is a legal mystery
set in 1921 Bombay (now Mumbai). The protagonist
is Parveen Mistry, the first Oxford-educated female
lawyer in Bombay. She is a Parsi in an abusive marriage
that ends in a tragedy. She can’t divorce or remarry, so
she lives with her secret past and helps other women
in trouble. While checking the will of the late Mr.
Farid, a Muslim businessman, Parveen notices that his
three widows have signed away the inheritance to
a charity. She knows that at least one of the widows
couldn’t read the will. Parveen’s investigation causes
hostility, but she continues her work, risking her safety.
As the plot unfolds, the reader gets a glimpse of history,
the struggles of women, Parsi traditional clothes
and food, and even a few recipes. According to Massey,
the character of Parveen was inspired by the real life
character of Cornelia Sorabji, a lawyer who studied
at Oxford in 1889. When she returned to India, she
took up women’s causes and wrote letters to promote
women’s rights and legal assistance for women.

Massey won the Agatha Award in 1997 for the
Best First Mystery novel. Her other books in the series
have been nominated for Agatha Awards, the Mary
Higgins Clark Award, and Edgar and Anthony Awards.
Her third book was the winner of Macavity Award
for Best Novel.

Gigi Pandian’s recently released paranormal
mystery in the Accidental Alchemist
series is The Elusive
Elixir. The story involves
Dorian Robert-Houdin,
a gargoyle chef/modern-day Poirot who is
turning into stone.
Zoe Faust, his friend,
goes from Portland
to Paris to search for
the medicine that
could save Dorian.
Meanwhile Zoe has
a new love interest for
the first time in “nearly a
century.” She faces a conflict between a safe romantic
life and finding the elixir to help her friend.

The author’s novel in her mystery series, The
Ninja’s Illusion: A Jaya Jones Treasure Hunt Mystery, will
be released in October 2017. It is fifth in the series
featuring Jaya Jones and her good friend Sanjay Rai,
the stage magician who calls himself “The Hindi
Houdini.” When Jaya learns that Sanjay is travelling
for his debut show in Japan, she joins him in
hopes of learning more about an ancient mystery. In
Kyoto, Jaya is puzzled when a Ninja interferes with
Sanjay’s tricks. Jaya and her friends must unravel the
secrets of ancient Japan before they or their friends
become murder victims. According to reviewer Susan
Spann, this story, set in many beautiful locations
in Japan, is fast paced and well-crafted. It blends
“modern magic and ancient secrets” and is “full of
compelling characters.”

Pandian received a Malice Domestic grant, and
her first Jaya Jones mystery was named “Best of 2012
Debut Novel” by Suspense magazine. She also received
the Left Coast Crime Rose Award, the Best of 2016
Cozy Mystery, and a Lefty Award. Her short story
“The Hindi Houdini” was shortlisted for Agatha and
Macavity Awards.

Although the four mystery writers have their
unique perspectives and experiences, write from
different corners of the world, and have chosen
different characters, settings,
time periods, and
subgenres for their mysteries,
they seem to have a few
qualities in common. They
are all widely traveled and
have lived in many places
with the opportunity to experience
other cultures and
ideas. Their parents encouraged
their curiosity,
creativity, a love for the written
word—and that has
helped them create fascinating
stories.

Hemlata Vasavada’s novel, The Cascade
Winners, was published in 2014. Her personal essays,
articles, and humor pieces have appeared in magazines
and newspapers. She lives in Pullman, Washington.

In case you'd like to copy down the list of male authors above and their books, here it is in text format:
Here are some successful male authors
of Indian origin who have drawn praise
for their mystery/crime/thriller novels:

V. Sanjay Kumar
Runs an art gallery and writes about art for magazines.
He’s the author of three novels:Artist, Undone
Virgin Gingelly
The Third Squad
The last one, crime fiction describing police
brutality, was released by Akashic Books in March
2017. Praised for its lyrical prose by Publishers Weekly,
this novel is set in Mumbai.

Abir Mukherjee
Works as an accountant in London. Author
of novels:SOAR—Success over Adversity Reigns!
A Rising Man
A Necessary Evil
Mukherjee’s
debut historical crime
fiction set in pre-independence
Calcutta, A
Rising Man, introduces
Captain Sam Wyndham
and Sergeant Banerjee.
It won the Harvill
Secker/Daily Telegraph
crime writing competition
in 2016.

Ashwin Sanghi
Author of thrillers, based on historical, theological,
and mythological themes but written in a contemporary
context. He has written four novels:The Rozabal Line
Chanakya’s Chant (available in English, Hindi,
Telugu, and Tamil)The Krishna Key (available in English, Hindi,
Telugu, and Tamil)The Sialkot Saga
Sanghi, included in Forbes
India “Celebrity 100 List,” has
been hailed as an Indian Dan
Brown.

Ravi Subramanian
Prolific author who has worked with many multinational
banks and is the head of a leading financial
institution in Mumbai. His nine books, including the
following five, have foreign banks as their settings:If God was a Banker
I Bought the Monk’s Ferrari
Devil in Pinstripes
The Incredible Banker
In the Name of God
Subramanian
is the winner of
the Golden Quill
Readers’ Choice
Award, Economist
Crossword
Book Award, and
Raymond Crossword
Book Award.
His novels have
been compared
to those of John
Grisham.

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